I

"Tomoe, dispel your ribbons or the girl dies. Unlike Kyoko, I will not hesitate."

"Homura, don't do anything rash," Mami cautioned her, holding a hand out but not daring to take a step forward.

Luckily for Homura, she was practically a stranger to them at this point in the timeline and they would not know that this threat was mostly a bluff. It was also lucky that they did not yet know the true nature of SoulGems or of the kind of damage a Magical Girl's body could really withstand.

"As long as you do what I say there is nothing to worry about," said Homura in a cool dark voice. "I do not wish to end her life needlessly, but I will do what I must. So just let me go."

Sayaka stepped forward before Mami could get another word out. "There is no way we can do that! Not until you tell us where Madoka is!"

Homura flipped the hammer back on her weapon. At the sound of the metal clicking into place Nagisa flinched and let a terrified squeak escape her lips. "I suppose the girl will just have to die then. I already warned you not to test me."

Sayaka gritted her teeth, her hand on her sword but likewise not daring to make a move. "Mami, what do we do?" When she glanced over to Mami her intense expression dropped into one of concern. Mami had a rather resigned look to her eyes, no weapon in her hand or any signal that she had any intention of doing anything. "Mami?"

Mami's hand rose and softly brushed through the air. The ribbons responded instantly, loosening their hold on Homura and dropping her. Her heels softly clicked on the ground as she landed.

"NO!" Sayaka screamed, making a move to jump forward. Homura instantly grabbed onto Nagisa, wrapping one arm around her upper body and keeping the gun firmly aimed into the top of her head.

"Don't move!" Homura shouted again, stopping Sayaka's advance.

Sayaka's grip tightened on her sword, she didn't know what to do. They were so close to getting Madoka back and now she was watching that opportunity slip away from her. "Please just let her go home!" is all Sayaka could say.

"It is best that Madoka continues to stay with me. There is no safer place for her."

"You are so full of crap! I don't know why you are doing this to her but there is no way she is okay with any of it!"

"Whether Madoka is okay with it or not is irrelevant," said Homura. "If I simply allowed her to go home she would be dead within a month."

"You can't possibly know that!" Sayaka shouted, "You are just trying to rationalize your crazy bullcrap!"

Mami stepped forward and put a hand on Sayaka's shoulder. "It's no good…" she said in a low voice. "Please just do as I asked and see if it is not too late to save Kyoko's life."

Sayaka spun around to face Mami, knocking her hand away and looking at her with fury in her eyes. "Are you kidding me? Is that Kyoko girl seriously what you are worried about right now!? I mean, she tried to kill us! Remember?"

Mami's eyes were unable to meet Sayaka's. "Homura, let Nagisa go and then be on your way… please…"

"Mami! What the hell?!" Sayaka shouted right in her face. "This isn't over! We can-"

"There is nothing we can do!" said Mami, cutting her off. "Surely you see that. I am so sorry, but while she has got Nagisa as a hostage, we can not take a risk and make a move against her. She won."

Homura's eyes narrowed as she watched them. She could see the strain their friendship was under at that moment, and knew that they needed to stay allies. If they could not, then everything would be hopeless once Walpurgisnacht arrived.

"I know this is not the best moment to bring this up," said Homura, "but all of us will need to ally with each other in a month's time. That includes Kyoko if she is not already dead."

Sayaka spun back around, returning her fury back to Homura. "What are you saying now?!" Her voice choked. The anger and frustration was finally taking its toll on her, and her eyes were beginning to tear up. "Why would we ever be allies with you!"

"It is too much to explain at this moment, but soon you will understand. Kyubey may already know what I am talking about by now, so try asking about it next time you see him." Homura then bent her head lower and whispered to Nagisa. "I am letting you go now, but my gun will still be on you. Do not move until I have dissapeared. Do you understand?"

Nagisa's whole body was shaking in fear, but she nodded her understanding. "Ah-huh."

"Okay then," Homura said softly, then released her grip on the small girl and started backing away slowly, keeping the gun pointed at her just as she said she would.

Sayaka watched with a dark expression. Homura could see it in her eyes, and knew all about Sayaka's foolhardy tendencies. Thus it was no surprise to her when Sayaka suddenly sprang forward.

Mami gasped and Nagisa instantly curled down into a ball and put her hands over her head, letting out a loud scream.

"You're not getting away!" Sayaka yelled, blowing right past Nagisa and baring her sword down on Homura within seconds. However, Sayaka's blade only sliced through thin air, for Homura disappeared just moments before the blade would have connected. Sayaka stumbled, but quickly regained her stance. Her eyes darted all around until they laid on Homura once again.

Homura was now standing on the ledge outside the window, right next to the giant hole created by Mami's Tiro Finale. Sayaka's hands tightened on her weapon, full tears managing to roll down her cheeks at this point.

"Do not try that again, it is pointless," said Homura. Her voice was so dark and void of emotion. The unmoved expression on her face showed clearly that she would never budge on any talk of allowing Madoka her freedom.

Sayaka understood it really was impossible now, and her face was wrecked with despair. She wasn't going to be able to save her friend. Homura was going to get away!

Homura looked towards the sky, she could hear sirens approaching. "You had better get down there and gather Kyoko's body. I hope that you are able and willing to save her life, if it is not already too late."

"Damn you!" said Sayaka, her hands shaking. "I swear I'm going to find a way to stop you!" Homura glanced back over to her. There was something akin to pity in her eyes, and Sayaka hated her for it. "You are not getting away with this!"

Homura sighed, her skirt blowing in the wind with the tops of the cityscape far in the distance behind her. "Just be sure that you do everything you can to save Kyoko Sakura. We will need her when Walpurgisnacht arrives."

Mami's eyes widened. "Walpurgisnacht?"

Then without another word, Homura disappeared.

II

It was several hours before Homura made it back to their hotel room. She had missed her chance at gathering the box witch's GriefSeed and thus needed to go find another before she could return home. Luckily, she knew of a minor witch that she was able to track down and destroy quite easily. It's GriefSeed did not offer her SoulGem a substantial amount of purity, but it was enough to hold her over for now.

On her way home she had stopped into a fast food restaurant for Madoka, realizing that she must be very hungry by now and probably would not want to wait for dinner to be cooked.

I hope she isn't too mad at me…

Homura opened the door of their hotel room and closed it behind herself. "I'm home. Sorry I'm so late." She set the fast food bag down on the counter as she walked to Madoka's room and flipped on the lightswitch.

Madoka was laying on her belly. She stirred for a moment, hiding her eyes under her forearms so she could adjust to the light, then she peeked over her shoulder and looked at Homura through the corner of one eye. She looked worn, and beaten.

Homura quickly went to the nightstand right beside her where she had left the key, then undid the handcuffs. Madoka rubbed her wrists as Homura undid her ankle cuffs, and as soon as she was free from her chains she sat up and let her legs hang over the side of the bed.

"Are you okay?" Homura asked as she sat down next to her.

Madoka nodded her head. Her fingers reached up to the tape around her mouth and softly scratched at it, trying to peel it back.

"Here, let me do that," said Homura. Madoka's head bowed down as Homura worked the tape loose from the back of her neck. It had been wrapped around several times, and the first few passes came undone quite easily. The final pass over which connected directly to her skin was a bit trickier. Homura did it slowly to avoid hurting her too much. The very back of her neck was the hardest part as there was no way to prevent it from pulling the little hairs at the bottom of her neck line, and Madoka winced and tightened her hands in response to the minor pain.

Once the tape was off Homura helped her spit out the cloth which was used to gag her, and then went to the kitchen to dispose of it. She gathered the fast food bag and wetted a paper towel to clean Madoka's mouth with. "I got some food for you," said Homura as she set the bag on the nightstand and sat down next to her. She started dabbing around Madoka's mouth with the paper towel, cleaning away the drool which was coated around her lips. Once that was done she reached across her to grab the food bag. "I figured you would-"

Madoka unexpectedly wrapped her arms around Homura, pressed her face firmly against Homura's chest and hugged her tightly. Homura's normally pale face instantly filled in with color. Her hands hovered just above Madoka's shoulders for a moment, then she very carefully put her hands around Madoka's back and returned the hug. "Are… you okay?" she asked.

Madoka nodded. "Just hold me for a while please… I was mad at you for a while today, but I don't want to be mad now. I'm just glad you're back."

She's glad that I'm back? Those words made Homura's heart skip. She did not question it though, and simply did as Madoka asked and held her a little tighter. They stayed like that for what felt like a very long time.

Eventually Madoka pulled away, and reached for the bag of food. "Did you give that letter to my mother?" she asked as she started unwrapping a cheeseburger.

"Yes."

"Then I can call her tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Thank you." Madoka bit into the cheeseburger, and once she started eating she didn't slow down until it was gone. She must have been very hungry.

"There's nothing in here for you," Madoka noted when she was done with her meal. "Did you eat already?"

Homura thought back. No, she hadn't eaten and that thought honestly had not even crossed her mind. The idea that Madoka needed food was the only thing she thought of when she stopped in the fast food restaurant earlier, but now that Madoka had asked she realized she was quite hungry herself after all. "No… I haven't."

"I'll make something for you, then." Madoka stood up and walked over to the kitchen.

"You don't have to do that," said Homura, walking after her.

"It's okay, just let me do it. I want to. You can just go watch TV."

"Oh… okay, then." Homura glanced over to the undone latch on the front door, then walked over to where she had hidden the combination lock. She brought it to the door and snapped it into place, then gave the dial a twirl. Once the lock was secure she went back to the couch and turned on the TV. She couldn't get herself to concentrate on any of the programing however, and eventually gravitated back to the kitchen where Madoka was sauteing some broken up hamburger meat.

Homura worried about that distant gaze in Madoka's eyes, and the way her voice held that low defeated tone. This would not be the first time Madoka had been in one of these kinds of moods, and it is always what worried Homura the most. She almost wished that Madoka was shouting at her right now, rather than cooking dinner for her.

She wanted to say something, but couldn't quite think of anything. Simply asking, "are you okay?" never does any good. Madoka would say that she is fine, even if she wasn't.

Of course she was not fine, but had Homura not kidnapped her and taken her here she would have ended up even more not fine. That was the thing Homura had to keep reminding herself of. Madoka might be miserable being trapped here like this, but at least she was safe… and alive...

"Why are you watching me like that?" asked Madoka. Homura flinched, just now realizing she had indeed been quietly watching Madoka from the other side of the kitchen. "Do you think I might be up to something?" Madoka asked. "Well I'm not…"

"That's not it. I was just thinking about some things."

Madoka went over to the fridge to grab a few vegetables, then she looked for the cutting board in one of the cabinets and started cutting them up while the hamburger meat continued to sizzle on the stove.

She had been far more obedient lately, compared to how she was when she was first taken here. She would not put up any kind of struggle when Homura needed to tie or chain her to the bed, nor has she tried any kind of attempt at escaping in quite a while. Even if her attitude was not the cheerful Madoka that Homura wanted to see, in some ways it might be better that she was like this. Maybe it was cruel, but it made her easier to control.

Homura walked up behind her as she was cutting the vegetables, and softly put her arms around her. Madoka's hands only slowed for a moment before continuing their work, and when Homura saw that she did not mind, she held on a little tighter and rested her head over Madoka's shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Madoka asked.

"I just want to be close with you… If it bothers you I'll stop."

Madoka brought a hand up to Homura's, placed it on top for a moment, then said: "It's okay. I don't mind." That made Homura smile.

It was such a simple thing, being close to the girl who she loved. It is all she ever really wanted and she had suffered through an unimaginable hell to achieve it. The battle was not over yet, however. It would not be over until Walpurgis Night had passed, and then it would be a simple matter of keeping Madoka her captive until she could no longer make a contract. After that? Well… it was a long time away, and she would just have to wait and see...

"Thanks again for letting me call my mom," said Madoka. "It means a lot to me."

"Of course… I want you to be happy."

Homura knew how Madoka felt, being kept away from her friends and family, but she hoped that eventually Madoka could be okay with it. One day, maybe she really could be happy with this kind of a life. Homura hoped so, at least.

III

"TIRO! FINALE!"

...

What the hell?…

The last thing Kyoko could clearly remember was a bright flash of light, then everything just spinning around her. She could remember a glimpse of blue sky one second, then the sides of some buildings, the city streets, the sky again.

Where am I now?

She was staring at a ceiling, but when she tried to move her neck to look around an intense sharp pain ran down her body. She groaned and tried to move her arm, but once again found that trying to force it only hurt her more.

"Huh?" she heard a small voice say. "H-hey! Um… she's awake!" Then Kyoko heard the patter of footsteps running away from her.

She tried to open her mouth to speak, but found something was restricting her jaw. In the painful condition of her body it would have been difficult to speak one way or another. A shadow appeared over her, or at least it looked like a shadow at first, until her vision focused and she saw it was the blue-haired rookie.

"So you're not dead," said Sayaka in a rather dry tone. Kyoko tried to say something back but all she could manage was a distressed groan. Sayaka let out a sigh and said, "Well, guess my work here is done. Sorry, but I can't spare any more magic trying to fix you up." She reached down out of Kyoko's point of view, then returned to her focus with a blue school bag which she started reaching through. She took something out, then set the bag down and opened a small hand mirror.

Kyoko's eyes widened as she saw the condition of her own body. She had a sheet laid over her, covering her lower body from her midsection down. Her chest, arms, face and head were heavily wrapped with bandages. She did not have any proper clothing on, but she was so thoroughly covered in bandages that it did not matter. The left side of her body was the worst, because in many areas of the wrappings small dots of red had bled through. Her left eye was swollen shut. The right was bloodshot with more red than white in it and a dark black and blue ring surrounding it.

She groaned, tried to move, but only her right arm managed to lift a little bit and set off sharp pain all along the muscles in her back. It felt like she was being stabbed by hundreds of knives all at once. Sayaka snapped the mirror closed.

"Anyway, like I said I did all I can do for now. Really, that's all I'm willing to do for you either. In my opinion, even this much is more than you are worth."

Kyoko narrowed her eye at Sayaka, the other eye was too badly bruised and swollen to move, and she spoke to her telepathically. "Idiot. Why did you even bother?"

Sayaka's own expression hardened as she looked down on the broken girl. "Don't get the wrong idea, I only did this much for Mami's sake. I personally thought it'd be a better idea to just leave you there. Not that I'm worried about you sticking around our city and competing with us. I just would have rather not spared the magical energy."

"That's not too heroic there, Miss. Hero of Justice."

"I'd rather have used my magic to help people who are actually worth it. In this case it couldn't be helped, though. Who knows, maybe you'll learn your lesson after all this and turn a new leaf. I'm not exactly holding my breath for any of that, though. Well, I'm leaving now."

"You damn arrogant bitch!" Kyoko shouted through her telekinesis. "The only reason you're still walking is cause' Mami caught me off guard! As soon as I heal myself I'm taking you out! Got it!?"

"I don't know if you realize this," said Sayaka. "But you look pretty pathetic right now."

Kyoko paused, the pupil of her one semi-good eye shrinking to a pinpoint. Then she forced herself up onto her good elbow and leaned towards Sayaka as much as she could. She growled from her position on the floor, ignoring the stabbing feeling which course all throughout her body.

Mami came rushing over from the other side of the apartment, Nagisa right behind her. "Whats going on!?" She looked at Sayaka for an explanation but the bluenettes eyes sank away defiantly, not offering one.

Mami instead rushed over to Kyoko's side and guided her back to a full lying position. "Sakura-san! You need to calm yourself! You could end up reopening your wounds!"

Kyoko didn't have the strength to fight back, and ended up letting herself be guided back down. Once the anger passed her the pain was impossible to ignore and it was some kind of a torture to just lay there and bare it.

"Listen, I am not trying to force you to stay here. As soon as you can get up and walk out that door you are free to do whatever you wish. Until then, though, you'll be under my care. So try to just accept it."

"Why'd you bring me here?" Kyoko asked telepathically.

"Considering that you are a Magical Girl I thought it might be better for us to treat you. We were able to close most of your wounds with magic, as well as bring the major bone fractures back together, but there is only so much we can do. Of course, if you'd rather go to the hospital after all I will take you there."

"Idiot, that's not what I'm asking," said Kyoko. "I'm sayin why didn't you just leave me on the street? You're wasting magic on me now too. You should have just finished what you started and let me die."

"I am not even going to dignify that with a response," said Mami as she stood up. "I'm making soup. If you are too weak to feed yourself I'm going to have to do it for you. Either way, you have to eat, so I am not taking no for an answer." Then she turned around and walked towards the exit of the room. Nagisa was peaking through the threshold but moved out of Mami's way as she approached. "Come on Nagisa, let's leave her alone and let her rest until dinner is ready." With that she closed the door, leaving Kyoko behind.

Kyoko returned her gaze to the ceiling, letting out an annoyed sigh. There was nothing she could do about it; she was stuck.

"Sayaka, wait a moment," said Mami before Sayaka could make it out the front door.

Sayaka looked back at her with that same disconnected expression, one hand on the doorknob.

Mami bowed her head. "I am so sorry that Homura ended up getting away. I… I really tried my best, but the situation just did not work out for us."

Sayaka paused for a long moment, unable to look Mami in the eyes until she eventually said, "If that girl you've got bandaged up in there hadn't shown up, Homura would not have found an opening to escape. I could have had Madoka back by now."

"Sayaka…"

"I'm fine with healing her, I guess I can't just sit by and do nothing and let someone die… even if she really is not worth saving. I'm supposed to be one of the good guys, right? So I didn't have a choice on that end. However, it is her fault that Madoka is still locked up somewhere. I am not going to forgive her for that."

"I understand, and you have every right to be angry… I… I wish you would stay the night here, though. Or at least stay for dinner. I'm worried that you feel like you have to leave, and I promise you that's not the case."

"It's not like that," said Sayaka. "I just got some stuff to do. You know, laundry and all that."

"Okay, very well then… Um, see you after school tomorrow?"

Sayaka took a moment to respond, then in an unenthusiastic tone said, "Yeah." She then opened the door and left.

Mami sighed and looked back to Nagisa. "What about you? Think you can stay for dinner?"

Nagisa nodded her head, "Yeah, I'll need to go home right after that, though."

Mami smiled, "Alright then, want to give me a hand in the kitchen?"

"Sure!" Nagisa said back with a big smile.

It was a simple recipe and Mami didn't really need too much from Nagisa. She asked her to cut a few vegetables up, or would get her to grab things from the cabinets as they prepared the meal.

"Hey Mami?" Nagisa asked once she was done with all her small tasks and Mami was standing at the stove stirring a pot.

"What is it?"

"Um… who is, Momo?" Mami's hand slowed its stirring. "Um, when mean girl... I-I mean, Sakura-san was unconscious, she kept muttering Momo, right? It sounded to me like that was somebody's name. So do you know who it is?"

"Yes, I do. That was the name of her little sister."

"Was?" Nagisa's eyes sunk down to the floor. "I see... Does that mean she died?"

Mami nodded her head. "Kyoko was a very different person before that day. She was once my ally, and she was once a kind hearted person who cared very much for others."

"What happened?"

Mami was quiet for a long time, trying to think over how to respond. "It is a long story, and I am not sure if Kyoko would be okay with me telling it. Her whole family died though, and Kyoko believes that she is to blame for all of it."

Nagisa's eyes widened as her gaze drifted over to the closed door which Kyoko was laying behind. Mami said that she wouldn't tell the story, and Nagisa accepted that. She couldn't help feeling sorry for the mean girl, though. Nagisa thought about her own mother, and how she almost lost her. She almost felt like she could relate… would she have become a mean person like Kyoko too if her mom really had ended up dying? She thought it was possible.

"Do you think that means she isn't really a bad person after all?" Nagisa asked.

Once again, it took Mami a while to respond but she eventually came up with an answer. "I honestly don't know who she is anymore. I like to think that is the case, though. I'd love nothing more than for her to return to the person who she once was."

Nagisa didn't ask Mami about it beyond that. She could see it was hard on her, and she didn't like seeing Mami sad.

They ate together at the glass triangular table in Mami's living room. Kyoko wouldn't be able to feed herself so Mami was going to help her with it once she and Nagisa were done.

After their bowls were empty Nagisa set her spoon down, put her hands together and bowed her head. "Thank you for the meal!"

"Of course," Mami said with a smile. "Well, guess you'd better go home before it gets too late."

Nagisa nodded. "Yeah, you're right." Mami walked her to the door to let her out, but before leaving Nagisa wrapped her arms around her tightly and buried her face in her stomach.

"Nagisa?"

"I'm really glad I'm friends with you!" said Nagisa. "I never really had anyone other than mama… and papa before he passed away. So I am really glad I met you!"

Mami tightened her hug on the young girl and said, "Me too. I am very happy that we became friends."

"If you need anything just call me, okay?" Nagisa said, referring to the fact they lived close enough to speak telepathically.

"Of course, and you know the same goes to you as well."

After letting Nagisa out Mami went back to the kitchen to pour Kyoko a bowl of soup. She then stood outside of Kyoko's bedroom door, sighed, and thought: Ok, here it goes.

She opened the door, giving it a few soft knocks as she came through. "Are you awake?" she asked as she cautiously walked over to her injured houseguest. Kyoko remained with her back flat against the futon but her one good eye moved over to Mami, signaling that she was indeed still awake. "I made soup, are you hungry?"

Kyoko responded telepathically. "I'm not going to stand for you feeding me. I'll eat when I can lift the spoon myself. So thanks, but no thanks."

"Sorry, but I'm not sure I can accept that answer," said Mami as she kneeled down behind Kyoko. "You can not rely completely on magic for your recovery. It will be able to do a lot for you, but you still need to take care of your body's basic needs."

Mami positioned herself a little closer, putting the bowl of soup to the side and said, "I need to perch you up, okay? It may hurt a little as I move you." Kyoko didn't respond, so Mami went ahead and put her hands under Kyoko's shoulders and as carefully as she could lifted her up and placed her head in her lap. Kyoko grunted from the pain of the small forced movements, mainly the torn and still healing muscles in her back screaming at her from being forced away from their stationary position. Once she was situated against Mami's lap though, she was fine.

Mami picked up the bowl and brought a spoonful of soup to Kyoko's mouth.

"You gotta be kidding me…"

"Quit being stubborn. Isn't it more dignified to not fight me on this?"

"I swear I'm going to get you back for this."

"Come on now, don't waste it."

She held the spoon in front of Kyoko's mouth for a while, waiting her out. Eventually Kyoko's lips very slowly cracked open, the spoon pressed against them and it was just enough to suck in the warm liquid. Mami waited for her to swallow then dipped the spoon back into the bowl and returned it to Kyoko's lips.

Once she started eating she was far less resistant. There is no doubt she was hungry, after all, and whatever the circumstances Kyoko always had been ethically opposed to letting food go to waste. At that thought Mami couldn't help a tiny chuckle from escaping her.

Kyoko's good eye instantly shot back up. "The hell was that? You making fun of me?"

"No… I am sorry, I was just thinking about something. Anyway, what do you think? Is it good?"

Kyoko accepted another spoonful and said, "It's fine."

Mami continued to feed her for a while until Kyoko said, "You know, this doesn't change anything. The second I'm on my feet again we are right back to being each other's competition. Got it?"

"If you are determined to see it that way, then I suppose it can't be helped."

"If you understand that then why are you doing this?"

"I suppose… because I think I owe it to you."

"Idiot, you don't owe me anything. Shooting me out that window was the one right thing you did all day."

"That's not what I meant." Mami set the spoon back into the bowl, and let it fall away from Kyoko's face. Kyoko forced her eye to the top of its lid so she could look at Mami. "We were friends once. Even if we have grown apart, I haven't forgotten what it was like back in those days."

"Well maybe you should. Things are different now."

"But… it doesn't have to be that way," said Mami, then she continued feeding Kyoko and they didn't talk much more for the night.

When the bowl was empty Mami helped get Kyoko back into position against the futon and prepared to go to bed herself. "If you need anything just reach out to me telepathically, okay?"

Kyoko's eye sank to the side. "There is something I need."

"Oh, what is it?"

Kyoko paused for a while, and Mami waited patiently for her request. Kyoko eventually said, "Don't make me say it." There was a somewhat abashed tone sneaking through her telepathy.

It took a moment for Mami to understand, and once the realization dawned on her she flinched. "Oh… I see. Okay, I think I have something for that. I'll be right back."

Mami left the room, leaving Kyoko on the mat staring at the ceiling and waiting for her to come back. She thought that today the only thing more damaged than her body was her pride.

I seriously hate this…


-Atomyst

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